Embracing My Inner Food Blogger

One of the more poignant moments in modern American history was when President John F Kennedy stood before a crowd of German citizens and pronounced,

Ich bin ein Berliner.

I am a Berliner. The meaning was powerful.

I am one of you.

Not to make light of those potent words, but strangely, they come to mind as I wait at the airport for a flight home, reflecting on my weekend with a group of food bloggers. We gathered for three gorgeous days in Smuggler’s Notch Vermont to learn how to be better at what we do.

Here’s where I get stuck, though:  The words ” food blogger”.  Since that first day nearly five years ago when I hung my Mom’s Kitchen Handbook shingle, “blogger” has felt like an itchy sweater. I need it for warmth, but I’m not that comfortable putting it on.

I’m a writer, I’ve told myself. I’ve been published in magazines and newspapers. I write books. I have a master’s degree.

Anyone can be a blogger.

And that’s true. Anyone can be a blogger (consider the fact that my 12-year-old daughter has a blog, as does a not-small-number of canine and feline friends). As my colleague Janet Helm pointed out recently in The Good, Bad and Ugly of Fitness and Food Blogging, there is no shortage of bloggers doing a true disservice to the subjects about which they write.

All that being said, I was reminded of something valuable this weekend: the blogging arena is also home to some seriously savvy women who are doing clever, creative work with one objective in mind: inspiring Americans to eat better and live healthier lives. I was lucky to be their company.

And so, I’m finally ready to embrace my inner food blogger.

Ich bin ein Blogger.

I am a Blogger, people!

Disclosure: My attendance at Blog Brûlée was underwritten, in part, by its sponsors.